see that line?
by hpnutter
Summary: "As soon as the words leave his mouth, Katsuki wants to pull out his tongue. There are some lines that shouldn't be crossed, and Katsuki knows he didn't just cross the line – he obliterated it." Katsuki instantly regrets telling Deku to kill himself, but pride keeps him quiet…until he sees Deku on the roof and thinks the nerd is actually going to take his "advice".


Stop right there, that's exactly where I lost it  
See that line? I never should have crossed it  
Stop right there, I never should have said that  
 **It's the very moment that I wish that I could take back  
** Reliant K – Who I Am Hates Who I've Been

"Just pray that you'll be born with a quirk in your next life, then take a swan dive off the roof of the building."

As soon as the words leave his mouth, Katsuki wants to pull out his tongue. There are some lines that shouldn't be crossed, and Katsuki knows he didn't just cross the line – he fucking obliterated it. His friends laugh awkwardly next to him, but they don't say anything, don't correct him. Deku looks at him, fists clenched at his sides, an angry glint in his eyes. He opens his mouth, but before he can even get a word out Katsuki lets a few small explosions loose.

"Something wrong?" he asks menacingly, glares at Deku, daring him to say something. Guilt twists and churns in his gut, but he has practice at ignoring it.

Katsuki swallows thickly. He feels unsettled, but it's not like Deku is _really_ going to jump off the school's roof, right?

He walks away, his footsteps almost as loud as his thundering heart. He chances one last glance at Deku, sees those green eyes watery, can practically feel the despair radiating off the other boy.

But Bakugou Katsuki doesn't apologize to anyone.

He leaves the nerd behind, whimpering.

* * *

Katsuki can't breathe. There's thick sludge filling his mouth, going up his nose, and he can't fucking _do anything_ about it. Tears slide out of his eyes, unbidden, and he wonders if this is his punishment, if he's in this position now because karma is a bitch and Katsuki has been having this aimed at him for most of the shit he's done in life.

He tries to fight, pulls viciously at his arms in an attempt to break loose. His quirk is going crazy, setting off explosions at the surrounding buildings and even at the heroes trying to save him.

Well, "trying" to save him is a bit of a stretch.

They're just…they're just standing there. Watching. Waiting.

Certainly not fucking helping him.

He can vaguely hear them talk about waiting for a hero with an appropriate quirk to come, and he would laugh if he could. What was the point of being a hero if you still had to wait for someone to come do the rescuing? Isn't that like an ambulance calling for an ambulance?

He's going to die, here, with an audience.

They're going to watch him die, and they're not going to lift a fucking finger to help.

If he's going to make it through this, he has to save himself.

With another vicious tug, Katsuki is relieved to have temporarily broken through. He sucks in air, precious fucking air that helps chase back the spots that had started to develop in his vision, and he screams, "GET OFF ME!"

But the sludge villain is persistent, and Katsuki isn't strong enough to completely rip free of that fluid, nasty hold. He's submerged in sludge again, only his eyes visible, and the despair and hopelessness that consumes him is frightening.

When he had decided he wanted to be a hero, he knew, in abstract, that he would probably die in the line of duty.

But this…he hasn't even started.

There's still so much he wants to do, there's so much…

 _So…much…_

His vision gets blurry again, and his gut is telling him, "This is it. This is how you die."

He stares at the crowd, begging the heroes with his eyes to fucking do something.

His savior is not who he expected. Deku comes barreling out from the crowd, tosses his backpack at the sludge villain. Katsuki doesn't expect it to work, because the villain's body is made of fucking sludge, but by some fucking miracle the sludge villain howls in pain and his hold is slightly released.

Katsuki coughs out sludge, gasping as he tries to catch his breath. "What the hell? Why are you here?" he demands.

"I dunno!" Deku cries. "My legs…they just started moving!" He paws at the sludge villain's viscous body uselessly. "Kacchan, I couldn't just stand there and watch you die!"

Katsuki's eyes widen a little. He grunts as the sludge villain tightens its grip, and he screams, "GET THE HELL OFF ME!"

He doesn't know why the nerd is here, why he's bothering to help Katsuki after what the blond told him earlier. It doesn't make sense. Why would Deku help him after Katsuki was so cruel?

He doesn't know what else to do; doesn't know how they're going to get out of this alive.

But then All Might's there. The Number One hero grabs his and Deku's hands, and then Katsuki and Deku are flapping in the wind created by All Might's Detroit Smash.

It's all over after that. All Might talks to the press, the crowd cheers.

The heroes take turns lecturing Deku for risking his life, and praising Katsuki for withstanding the villain so long.

It makes Katsuki want to scream; yeah, Deku was stupid for running in when he's quirkless and couldn't do anything to help, but those heroes? They're the ones with the training. They're the ones licensed. Those _heroes_? They didn't do a damn thing to help him.

At least Deku bought him a couple of minutes of air.

Deku…

Katsuki grabs his discarded bag, grimaces at the much still covering it. He starts to head home, gingerly rubs his chest. It hurts a little to breathe, but that's okay. At least he's still breathing.

He sees Deku ahead, and before he can think too much about it, he's chasing after the other boy, yelling, "DEKU!"

The green-haired boy pauses, turns. "Kacchan?"

Katsuki stops just short of the other boy, pants because running after oxygen deprivation was probably not the smartest idea he's ever had. He stares at Deku, wills himself to thank him for doing something when nobody else would, to apologize for being a dick earlier. God, there's so much shit that he has to apologize for.

There's just so much to say. He opens his mouth, and then the words come tumbling out.

"Listen," he starts, "I would never ask for a weakling like you to help me. Don't think you can look down on me! Got that? I was doing just fine by myself. You're just a quirkless failure who wouldn't even make it as a rent-a-cop. You didn't help me. You did _nothing_. Don't forget it. I don't owe you anything!"

…what the fuck, mouth?

Katsuki whirls around and stomps home, irritated with himself. That was…not what he wanted to say. But it's too late now. The words are out of his mouth, and he can't take them back.

He hates the guilt still settled in his stomach.

* * *

His mother isn't a particularly affectionate person but hearing about his brush with death on the news has left her shaken. She constantly bombards his phone with text messages, wants to know where he's going and who he's with and what time he'll be home.

It's annoying, invasive, but he answers her anyways because it's better than listening to her nag.

His father is, seemingly, the polar opposite of his mother. Calm, cool, and collected, even his father hugs him extra long when he comes home, still sticky with sludge on his uniform, his throat raspy as fuck.

He'll never admit it, but it does make him feel a little better, seeing evidence that his parents give a shit. He knows he's not the easiest person to deal with.

Still, knowing his parents care isn't enough to stop the nightmares that start plaguing him. He wakes up most nights, viciously fighting against the sheets he becomes tangled in, screaming to be let go.

The nightmares don't go away any time soon.

* * *

Katsuki trains. He doesn't ever want to be a _victim_ again, doesn't want to depend on someone else for his own safety and welfare. His parents understand his desire, don't raise too much of a fuss when he works out for hours after school and devours as much food as they put in front of him.

If Katsuki is not studying or doing homework, he's working out. He increases the weight for his dead lifts, his bench presses, his squats. He's almost obsessive in his desire to be stronger, wants to put on as much muscle as he can.

He comes home aching and tired, but also satisfied. The pain means he's still alive.

Katsuki keeps to this routine for months. In a way, it helps him combat the nightmares. Most of the time, he's too exhausted to even dream, and so he continues to push himself. He completely leaves Deku alone. Looking at the nerd reminds him of the guilt still churning in his gut, lying in wait, ready to pounce and consume him whenever he sees the nerd's stupid face.

It's just one more thing that he can't be fucked with right now.

But, of course, the universe is fucking displeased with him, and as he's walking home one day, his sharp eyes catch a glimpse of a newspaper article.

NEW BODY FOUND IN AOKIGAHARA.

A shiver creeps up Katsuki's spine, leaves him as breathless as that sludge villain. His blood runs cold as he slowly moves closer to the newsstand where the innocuous paper sits. He picks it up with shaky hands, reads, "The body of a fifteen-year-old boy was discovered in Aokigahara."

The relief he feels is palpable; Deku isn't fifteen. Not yet. But his relief is short-lived as he feels nausea start to rise. God, he's going to be sick. Everyone knows, of course, that Aokigahara, Suicide Forest, is a popular spot for those looking to kill themselves.

But someone around his age? Why would they do such a thing?

 _"…take a swan dive off the roof of the building…"_

He swallows thickly.

"Hey, kid, you gonna buy that?"

Katsuki's head jerks up. The newsstand owner is looking at him expectantly. He wants to put the paper back down, but it's like it's glued to his hand. His heart is a wild tattoo in his chest, ready to burst free from the confines of his rib cage.

Katsuki pulls out some money and slaps it on the counter, ignores the owner's attempt to give him his change.

He runs the rest of the way home.

* * *

 _Katsuki can't breathe. There's sludge, vile and thick, in his mouth, up his nose, filling his lungs. He tries to scream, but the sludge drowns it out. There are people watching; surely someone will do something to help!_

 _But they stand there, staring, waiting._

 _The sludge villain laughs, gurgles, "Nobody's saving you, boy. Why would they? You deserve this."_

 _There's a light shining in the distance._

 _Katsuki looks, and his eyes widen in horror._

 _It's Deku. His body is broken, tangled and bloody limbs lying at awkward, unnatural angles. He's still wearing his school uniform, and Katsuki realizes that he did it._

 _He took a swan dive off the school's roof._

 _Deku's eyes are still open, glossy, lifeless, but they still have that piercing quality, calculating, analyzing, **judging** Katsuki's very soul._

 _And then his bloody mouth moves, a macabre smile on his lips as he says, "Maybe in my next life I'll have a quirk just like you, **Kacchan**."_

 _Katsuki screams._

* * *

Whenever he's at school, he watches Deku. He can't help it; he needs to see with his own eyes that Deku is alive. For the first few weeks, Deku looks like he's doing well. He looks better than he has in a long time, more energized, full of life.

Katsuki is ready to chalk up his fears to paranoia when Deku seems to…change.

He starts looking more tired, haggard, and his mumbling increases ten-fold. The nerd starts falling asleep in class, starts to look dead on his feet. Deku stares out of the window almost wistfully.

What is he thinking of?

Katsuki wants to go over to him, wants to apologize for his words, wants to thank Deku for having a part in saving him. He wants to shake him out of whatever funk the nerd has fallen into.

 _"…take a swan dive off the roof of the building…"_

He regrets ever suggesting Deku kill himself. He regretted it as soon as the words came out of his mouth, and he regrets it now because…

Because with each passing day, it's starting to look like maybe Deku will do it.

* * *

 _Deku's body makes a sickening thump as it comes into contact with the ground. Katsuki flinches in the sludge villain's hold._

 _The fall not only broke Deku's legs, but also caved in part of his skull. His green hair is matted with blood, dark red and thick, and his face… God, there's shards of bone peaking through his cheeks, teeth missing, nose abruptly turned to the side._

 _Deku crawls over to Katsuki, his bloody body making an uncomfortable squelching noise, and when he smiles, it's gory, almost reminiscent of the time when Deku lost his first tooth._

 _"It's okay, Kacchan," the dead body slurs, sending flecks of still hot blood at Katsuki's face. "I had to do it… so I could have a quirk in my next life."_

 _And then crooked fingers reach up, brush away the tears leaking out of Katsuki's eyes, smearing blood and dirt over the blond's face._

 _The sludge villain laughs that bubbly, gurgling laugh, and Katsuki drowns._

* * *

His parents are starting to get worried.

Katsuki knows he looks like shit. He can't seem to catch more than a few hours of uninterrupted sleep, and it shows. There are deep, dark bags under his eyes, his skin is becoming an acne-filled mess, and he is more reserved than normal. Working out doesn't help anymore.

He pushes around his food, feels his stomach growling but he knows as soon as he eats he'll feel sick.

"Katsuki, what's wrong?" his father asks softly. His brown eyes are worried.

Katsuki plays around with his food a bit more, nibbles on some chicken with a grimace. "'m fine," he says quietly.

"Bullshit!" his mother bites out. She firmly sets her chopsticks on the table, scowls at him. Her eyes are glassy, and it's such a foreign look on his mother that he's taken aback. "Something is _wrong_ , Katsuki. Are you in some kind of trouble? Whatever it is, _tell us_ , and we can _help you_!"

The table is silent after her outburst. Katsuki's hands shake a little, and he stares down at the corner of his eye.

His mother stands up to scold him, upset, but then he starts speaking.

"Why do people kill themselves?"

His parents blink in shock, exchange mutual worried glances. "I…why do you ask?" his father asks.

"Why?"

It's his mother who answers. Her voice is shaky as she says, "People kill themselves for a lot of reasons, Katsuki. Sometimes they're stressed about life, sometimes it seems easier to die than to live."

"And…" Katsuki swallows. "Do you think…if someone told someone else to kill themselves…do you think they would do it?"

"Did someone tell you to kill yourself?" his father demands, shock and outrage in his voice.

"What? No!" Katsuki shakes his head vehemently, puts his chopsticks down. "I…forget I said anything…"

"Katsuki." His mother moves closer to him, places her hand on his shoulder gently. He still flinches. "Katsuki, did you tell someone to kill themselves?"

His eyes burn. He can't look her in the eye, feels so ashamed of himself, but he slowly nods his head. "I…I didn't mean to…" he whispers. "It just…came out."

His mother sighs. "Katsuki, whether you meant it or not, words have repercussions. You don't know what kind of impact your words will have on someone."

"I'm sorry," he whispers hoarsely. His throat is tight; it feels like he's submerged in sludge again.

"We're not the ones you need to apologize to," his father says gently. When Katsuki chances a glance at his parents, their brows are furrowed, their mouths a thin line. But they don't look furious with him. No, they look disappointed.

Katsuki would rather they rage.

"…I'll apologize," he says quietly.

His mother sighs, then wraps him into a hug so warm that the tears he was holding back escape. "I won't lie and say I'm not disappointed," she tells him. "I believe your father and I raised you to be better than this." She pulls back, grabs his chin and gently turns so that they're facing each other eye-to-eye. "And because we've raised you to be better than this, I know you're going to do the right thing and apologize to whoever you said this to. And I know you're _never_ going to say something like this again."

He nods his head, feeling so very small.

His parents don't send him to his room; they don't have to. He quietly stands up, bows respectfully, _deeply_ , at his parents, and leaves.

He can feel their eyes on him as he walks up the stairs.

* * *

Finding Deku turns out to be harder than he thought.

The nerd isn't at his usual haunts. Katsuki's checked at least five different times in as many days. Deku seems to vanish into thin air whenever Katsuki gets within five feet of him, not that Katsuki blames him. And his "friends" are no help at all, so Katsuki has no problem ditching them as fast as he can.

Still, Katsuki isn't giving up. Stalking is too harsh a word, but it is essentially what Katsuki does; he prefers 'staking out the target' because it makes him sound like less of a creeper.

As soon as the class lets out, Katsuki is moving swiftly in Deku's direction. The little shit has gotten a lot faster in recent months, and he's small enough that ducking and weaving through the sea of students is as easy as breathing. Katsuki has a harder time of it, shoves and pushes his way through the crowd.

By the time he makes it outside, Deku is nowhere to be seen.

Katsuki kicks the ground angrily, snarls at the weird looks he gets.

Why is apologizing so fucking difficult?

* * *

By his sixth failed attempt of cornering Deku, Katsuki is ready to re-evaluate his belief that Deku is quirkless. The nerd is like a fucking ninja, showing Katsuki up, making a fool out of him.

It makes Katsuki angry.

It's also headache-inducing, and Katsuki almost wants to call it quits. Katsuki is a lot of things, but a quitter has never been and will never be one.

So, he keeps trying. Failure is a familiar taste on his tongue, bitter and tough to swallow. But he is persistent, if nothing else, and eventually he's able to catch a break.

School has already been over for two hours when Katsuki is finally able to leave. There's an upcoming project that he has to get done, and he'd holed himself up in the library to get the bulk of his research done.

The school is mostly empty, only a few teachers still straggling about. Katsuki walks out of the building, tired. He's thinking of just going over to Deku's house. If the Deku will not come to Katsuki, then Katsuki must go to the Deku.

He's walking home, thinking of what he's going to say. Should he just knock on the front door, risk seeing Auntie Inko, look into her eyes with the knowledge that his words could have potentially pushed her son over the ledge.

No, maybe he should just knock on Deku's window and make him open up.

Katsuki's eyes catch a weird shadow on the ground, and he turns around.

He gasps, loud, when he sees Deku on the roof.

No, no he can't!

Katsuki just moves, doesn't really have the luxury to think. Explosions pop as he propels himself to the roof, screams, "DEKU!"

The nerd startles, looks at him with tears streaming down his face, and his eyes widen just before Katsuki tackles him off the ledge.

They land in a tangle of limbs, Deku's elbow in Katsuki's face, Katsuki's knee in Deku's gut. They tumble across the roof until Katsuki gains some control of his body, and then he's straddling Deku's hips, hands grasping the lapels of Deku's school jacket, mouth pulled into an angry snarl.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, DEKU?" he shrieks into the nerd's face. "HUH? JUST WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?"

"Kacchan?" Deku squeaks, eyes wide. He grasps at Katsuki's hands futilely.

"YOU'RE BETTER THAN THIS, YOU SHITTY NERD!" Katsuki shakes Deku roughly, aggressively. "DID YOU EVER THINK HOW AUNTIE WOULD FEEL? HOW MY PARENTS WOULD FEEL? WHAT ABOUT WHAT THE FUCK _I_ WOULD FEEL?"

"What are you…?"

"I'm sorry," Katsuki blurts out, heaving. To his horror, he can feel himself tearing up, but he just clenches Deku's jacket even tighter. "I'm fucking sorry, okay? I never should have… I didn't mean it when I told you to take a swan dive off the roof… I was just… Regardless, I didn't think you would be this selfish, Deku!"

"Kacchan," Deku says slowly, "what the hell are you talking about?"

Katsuki freezes, stares down at Deku hard. "Excuse me?" he says quietly, dangerously. "What the hell am I talking about? What the hell are you doing? Why were you about to jump off the roof?"

"But I wasn't going to do that!" Deku cries, tries to push Katsuki off him.

"No? Then why the fuck were you standing on the edge?" Katsuki demands.

"I was…that's none of your business, Kacchan!"

"I'm not stupid, nerd! Stop looking down on me! You're _always_ looking down on me!" He glares at Deku, tears streaming down his face. A few fall onto Deku's, making it look like the nerd is crying with him. "You're always looking down on me, and I hate it. You don't have a quirk, but you're always trailing behind me, and you're always staring at me like you know something I don't, like you're just waiting for me to fail. I can't stand it! But I… I don't want you to kill yourself, okay? I'm sorry for ever saying it!"

He sniffles, abruptly dries his eyes on his sleeves. He feels lighter, less burdened, but there's still a frisson of anger curling in his chest.

In a surprising move, Deku flips them over, maneuvering until he has the upper hand. "Is that really what you think?" he asks harshly. It catches Katsuki off guard. "You really think I've been looking _down_ on you?"

Katsuki snarls at him, "I'm not blind, Deku! You're always checking to see if I'm okay, like I can't take care of myself! I didn't need your help then, Deku. I was just fine!"

"This is…this is from when we were kids?" Deku laughs, sounds a little hysterical as he shakes his head. "For a smart guy, Kacchan, you're an idiot!"

"You—!"

"I've always looked up to you, Kacchan," Deku says. He's tearing up, glaring at Katsuki with surprising conviction. Katsuki's eyes widen. "You were always so cool, amazing, with such a great quirk. I knew you were going to be a great hero, and I wanted to be just like you! I didn't study you to get know your weaknesses or anything; I studied you because I knew if I was still going to be a hero, if I was going to have a chance even though I'm quirkless, studying the way you moved, the way you fought, _that's_ what was going to help me!"

"…what?" Katsuki gasps out. He shakes his head in denial. "That's… you were… that doesn't even make sense!"

"You were my best friend when we were kids, Kacchan. Why wouldn't I ask for your welfare? Why wouldn't I want to make sure you were okay?"

"I didn't need your help!" Katsuki hisses.

Deku lets out a broken laugh. "My father died from a head injury, Kacchan," he says tiredly. He slips off Katsuki, scoots over so that he can lean on the edge of the roof. "He took a fall, and he hit his head pretty hard. My mom wanted him to go to the hospital, but he refused. He said it wasn't that serious, and you know what? He died from a subdural hematoma just days later." Deku shakes his head. "I was just worried about you, you f-fucking idiot."

Katsuki gapes at him. He tries to say something, but the words die in his throat. Deku sniffles, wipes away his tears.

The silence is thick and tense between them. Katsuki is reeling from the revelations, doesn't know how to respond. He stares at Deku, studies his expressions and knows that the nerd is being genuine. That he really just…all these years he was merely concerned.

Katsuki is an idiot.

He's moving again, slowly, deliberately. His cheeks burn, but he knows what he has to do.

He's never performed the dogeza, hasn't ever felt sorry enough to put himself in a position so vulnerable. But he knows, as humiliated as he feels, he knows that he has to do this.

"I'm sorry," he repeats.

Deku stares at him, gapes. "Kacchan, you don't have to—"

"I misjudged you," Katsuki continues as if Deku never spoke. "I interpreted your actions falsely, believed the worst about you, and I've bullied you for years. I told you to kill yourself recently, and there is no justification for my actions." He looks up, makes eye contact, and then bows until his forehead touches the floor. "I'm so sorry."

Katsuki keeps his forehead to the ground. He can hear Deku stand up and shuffle over.

"Kacchan," Deku says. Katsuki doesn't move. " _Katsuki_ , look at me."

Surprised, Katsuki lifts his head. Deku is standing there, smiling, hand outstretched. For a moment, it's like Katsuki is four again. "Deku, what…?"

"Let's start over," Deku says. He's still smiling, wide and unrestrained, still crying but he doesn't look sad. "Hi, I'm Midoriya Izuku."

Katsuki sighs breathily, wipes at his own eyes. He grabs Deku's hand, a choice he hadn't made a lifetime ago, and this time it feels a little like salvation.

Deku pulls him up effortlessly.

"I'm Bakugou Katsuki," he mumbles, holds tightly onto Deku's hand. "You can call me Kacchan, though."

Deku laughs wetly. "You can still call me Deku," he says wryly. "But it doesn't mean useless anymore, okay? From now on, Deku is the name of a hero!"

Katsuki is surprised to find himself grinning slightly. "A hero," he agrees. He frowns a little, fixes Deku a stare. "If you weren't going to jump, then what were you doing here?"

Deku blushes, reaches one hand to scratch his head nervously. "I was just watching the sunset," he admits. "It's so beautiful here, and I just… things have really changed these last few months, you know?"

Katsuki cocks an eyebrow. "You were crying because of the sunset? Nerd," he says, but his tone is light, almost playful. "Yeah, things have sure been _different_ lately."

Deku's blush deepens, and he lets out a few nervous chuckles. Then he stares at Katsuki with that analytical, calculating glint in his eyes. It makes Katsuki feel like he's being x-rayed.

"Kacchan…can you keep a secret?"

* * *

When Katsuki gets home that night, his head is whirling with Deku's revelations about All Might, and the quirk he's going to inherit. He eats his dinner quietly, contemplatively.

"Katsuki?"

His head snaps up. His mother is looking at him expectantly. "Yes?"

"How did it go?"

Katsuki takes a drink of water. "I apologized," he says. "And we're going to try to be friends again."

His father smiles at him. "We expect to see more of Izuku, then."

Katsuki looks at his father sharply. "I never said…"

"You didn't have to, brat," his mother says. She levels him with an unimpressed stare. "I don't know what happened when you were kids, but you suddenly had it out for him. It wasn't that big of a leap to make."

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Katsuki asks. "I shouldn't have… There were so many things that I did, things that I said that weren't okay. Why didn't you step in?"

"Would you have listened?" his father inquires, stares at him contemplatively. "Would you have learned the lesson you needed to?"

Katsuki thinks about it. "Probably not," he admits. "But that doesn't mean that I should have gotten away with everything. I…I didn't make things easy for Deku."

"You're right. You shouldn't get away with it at all. What do you think your punishment should be?" His mother is staring hard at him.

Katsuki swallows. "I don't know," he says quietly. "But I will accept any punishment you deem worthy."

He keeps his head bowed, so he's surprised when his mother grabs his chin and raises it.

"We took a risk, letting you carry on as we did," she says quietly. "There were times when I wanted to step in, when your father wanted to step in, but we decided, ultimately, to let you work it out on your own. We're not always going to be around to make things better, to fix things you broke. It's hard, but sometimes as a parent, you have to step back and let your kids figure things out. You're never going to learn if we give you all the answers. So, tell me, have you learned your lesson?"

Katsuki thinks about it. He thinks about the sleepless nights, the constant paranoia that hounded him the past few months. He feels like he got off rather lightly, compared to how he's made Deku feel all those years.

And he thinks about Deku, about the tentative friendship they're starting to rebuild. About the trust Deku has placed in him yet again, even though he feels undeserving of it. He knows better now, knows how fragile their bond is, and finds himself actually wanting to fix things.

"I've learned my lesson," he says firmly.

"Then you did good, brat," his mother says, gently kisses his cheek and ruffles his hair. "And I'm proud of how you've taken responsibility for your actions. It takes a man to do that."

Katsuki bites his lip to keep it from trembling.

"We both are," his father says. Then he smiles, but there's a hint of something steely in it that has Katsuki's back straightening. "But if this ever happens again, Katsuki, you are not too old to be put over our knee."

Katsuki swallows, nods his head.

Message received loud and clear.

* * *

He just got in bed when his phone buzzed. Katsuki groans, contemplates going to sleep and checking it in the morning. But then he spends the next ten minutes wondering who the fuck would be bother him so late at night, so he throws his covers off and strides to his phone.

Deku: (11:47 p.m.): I'm really glad we're friends again, Kacchan.

Katsuki: (11:59 p.m.): If you keep texting me this late, I might have to rethink that. (middle finger)

Deku: (12:01 a.m.): So mean. (crying face)

Katsuki: (12:01 a.m.): You'll get over it.

Deku: (12:02 a.m.): I actually had another reason for texting you.

Katsuki: (12:04 a.m.): You going to elaborate or am I supposed to die of suspense?

Deku: (12:08 a.m.): Wanna meet me at Dagoba beach later today at 5? All Might won't be there but I still have my exercises to do.

Katsuki: (12:10 a.m.): Get some sleep, nerd. I'll be there.

Katsuki tosses his phone back on his desk, gets back into bed and curls under the blankets.

Sleep comes to him swiftly.

For the first time in months, there are no nightmares.


End file.
